HYB: JI X SIB hybrids

From: "Debby Wheeler" <foxbrook@javanet.com>
There is some skepticism currently regarding the potential JI X SIB hybrids.
I think that much of the skepticism is in part to the familiarity that we
all have to breeding irises that are either from the same or related
species. When these are crossed together, the hybrids seem intermediaries
of the parents.
I can sight a few examples of wide crosses where the traits of both
parents are not altogether clear in the progeny.
The first is Jack Ellis' 'Seuver Frumenty', which is I. Pseudacorus x I.
versicolor, which looks overwhelmingly like the pollen parent, though the
signal very different from any versicolor and the foliage is more like I
pseudacorus. (an aside: the species checklist gives the name as 'Seuver
Thrumenty', though my letter from Jennifer Hewitt that put the name on the
seedling '845 Ellis' predates the checklist.)
The second example is that of Holden's Child, which is Holden Clough x
Self, but bears little resemblance to its parent and sets no seed. While
this is not the same sort of example as the previous, it is the one plant
from things related to Holden Clough that does not have the token strongly
Pseudacorus appearance. DR, Kevin Vaugh working with information from Ben
Hager and also on his own, asserts that the more generations from Holden
Clough (using controlled pollinations where both parents are known), the
more the progeny look like I. Pseudacorus.
The nature of wide crosses is that the products are not predictable, nor
are they necessarily obviously different.
As far a using Rose Queen, I don't feel as though that is problematic,
it is clearly a Japanese iris, the initial registration problem was a
taxonomy issue which has clearly been straitened out.
Andrew Wheeler
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